This invention relates to the construction of diving suits, particularly to improved seam construction to decrease leakage and at the same time increase the strength of diving suits.
The current method of seam construction in diving suits is represented by the prior art, the closest of which is U.S. Pat. No. 3,246,621 and Fr. Pat. Nos. 1.306.301 and 1.306.990. U.S. Pat. No. 3,246,621 illustrates a method of seam construction which is formed by butting two edges of elastomeric material together using lock stitching to secure them together. In the aforementioned France patents, the butting edges are glued together and a strip of rubber is glued along the length of the edges to form the seam of the diving suit.
The current state of the art in diving suit seam construction is to combine the two methods above. Such seam construction consists of gluing abutting edges of elastomeric materials together, stitching the edges and gluing a strip of rubber to the outside and/or to the interior seam in an attempt to reduce leakage.
Unfortunately, there are many problems which arise with the current state of the art in diving suit seam construction. During wear, such seams can be easily separated or broken resulting in leaks through the suit. Further, the rubber strip glued to the inside of the seams also rubs against the body which may loosen the seam and result in leaks. Moreover, the movement of the rubber strip against the body, irritates the skin. Also, the current method of seam construction in diving suits often results in accidental stitch penetration. Accidental penetration occurs during the stitching process when the needle punctures the interior of the seam, which may allow water to follow the thread lines through the seams and into the suit.
Another problem with current diving suit construction is that only one type of glue may be used in gluing seams, that is, a crystalline glue. Although crystalline glue results in a strong but rigid bond a drawback of its use is that very cold water causes the crystalline glue to develop minute cracks which may cause leakage and reduce the strength of the suit.
The instant invention solves all of the above mentioned problems associated with diving suit seam construction by providing an improved method of seam construction, which reduces leakage and increases the strength of the seams, thereby considerably increasing the life of the diving suits. By the insertion of a filler strip made of elastomeric material, such as rubber, in a slit in the interior of the suit material along each seam, leakage is substantially reduced because the water has to permeate through the glue on the outside of the seam, around the rubber filler strip and through the inner seam, thereby traveling approximately twice as far as with current seam construction before leakage can occur. Also, because the rubber filler strip is inserted within the material, the inside edges of the seam are smooth, thereby eliminating skin irritation.
The instant invention goes further in reducing leakage by eliminating accidental stitch penetration through the suit material because only the exterior of the suit is exposed to stitching. Furthermore, the instant invention provides for considerably stronger seams in diving suits since there is more adhesive area. Another feature of this invention that increases the strength of the seams is that it allows the optional use of two types of glue on the seams: a crystalline glue, which is the only glue which can be used in current seam construction and a non-crystalline glue to make the seam more pliable than current seams.